


Maintaining The Mask

by ODeorainFan2150



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternative Perspective, Angela Ziegler is not who everyone thinks she is, Angela has issues, F/F, Internal Monologue, Nanobots solve everything
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-24
Updated: 2018-09-24
Packaged: 2019-07-17 06:15:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16089746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ODeorainFan2150/pseuds/ODeorainFan2150
Summary: Mercy - The face of Overwatch. A peerless healer, a brilliant scientist, and a staunch advocate for peace.Well, mostly true





	Maintaining The Mask

Angela Ziegler breathed a sigh as she stood waiting to be called up on stage, running her hands down her silver dress to remove the creases. It was yet another fundraiser which meant another speech to sit through followed by another time to play nice with the rich people who would help to pay for her work. Outwardly, she was all smiles and polite laughter but on the inside, she was railing against what she was forced to do. A waste of her time, that’s all this was.

The speaker on stage was introducing her, giving a rundown of her life until now. Well, the publically sanitised version. There were only a few who knew the whole truth.

She had been young when she had been taken to the doctor’s after her teacher discovered her biology project slowly decaying in her locker. She couldn’t hear the words through the glass but she could read the lips well enough. “Prodigy”, “off the charts”, “psychopathic”. That’s when she’d first learnt - she’d need to create a mask, something to hide the parts polite society disliked.

If she didn’t hate them to the core of her being for all they had done, she would have thanked the omnics that had eradicated her town. It made the next steps all so much easier, without records of her earlier incidents.

The speaker was continuing to talk, now covering to her time at university. She had loved those years, learning her trade both inside the classroom and outs. There was any number of groups that would pay for an off the book surgeon, especially when that surgeon was willing to wield the scalpel for other purposes as well. She’d made her Hypocratic Oath with her metaphorical fingers crossed behind her back. 

With all this social contact, she’d soon learned to wear the mask well, keeping her true self behind a more friendly face. She had a gift for getting people to like her, with her smile and her laugh, the blonde hair and those piercing blue eyes that everyone remembered. Of course, this was also her first experiments with nano-tech. 

With the right programming, they could make you irresistible to anyone you met, making them pliable enough to do whatever you wanted. A few combinations caused issues before they were flushed from her system - some just to her (although they were often the most enjoyable evenings) but others meant calling in some help from her associates to clean up the mess. But every mistake had helped fuel progress on the nanobots that she now had running inside of her. They were her works of art.

And then she’d published - the first paper on her breakthrough. The speaker had caught up to her train of thought and was now talking about her time at Overwatch. 

Ah, Overwatch. Where this saintly image she portrayed had been carefully crafted and sent out as a brand, all masterminded by Morrison to make the organisation look good. That winning combination (smile, hair, eyes) again showed it’s worth, her picture stuck to every poster around the world. The hours and hours of talk shows and interviews, of fixing the smile and being polite, of time not spent working on improvements or her skills.

Only one other person had truly seen who she was. It seems that she wasn’t the only one into self-experimentation, especially when she started feeling her usual tactics not working. Her nanobots had been hunted and destroyed in her partner’s system, something she knew when the Irish woman had left a test tube of them on her desk - the note on the bottle read “better luck next time”. 

A game had started between them, the red head’s genetic modifications against her ever-improving bots, creating an arms race that pushed them onwards to eventually co-operation as both looked at the other’s work. They had a connection, more than just being co-workers or physical with each other. They had the same drive, the same need to understand and improve. Their combined efforts had escalated, from small experiments to bigger projects and even beyond that.

The speaker droned on but now she was waiting for the line they always trotted out, the one that almost made her laugh.

  
_ “and a staunch advocate for peace” _

If only they knew. 

She’d never been the one asking for peace. The arguments at Overwatch behind closed doors, the early proposals and ideas that had been shot down by the ethics committee. The stacks of nanobot variations that she’d developed designed to target specific groups or cause complications at the touch of a button or eat through the metal the omnics were made off. Her complaints about the biotic rifle were more about how it was done behind her back, rather than the weaponisation of her ideas. 

Later she realised what was happening and just stopped suggesting her more radical ideas to prevent people from digging too far. Playing the part to make sure she wasn’t under investigation and could still keep working on the more interesting advancements. The only reason she’d been known as an “advocate for peace” was because Morrison made sure that was the only story that ever got out. Always on brand.

_ “Able to stop death itself” _

They did like that, the general public. People complained when it was announced, the religious types mostly. Her Rabbi had been especially vocal about his distaste. To her, this breakthrough was just evening the playing field - the omnics could bring their fallen back to life, why shouldn’t Overwatch? Secretly, it was also a chance to get small quantities of her little darlings into more people. She was never sure what to do with them but having a few colonies she could reactivate at a whim was worthwhile. 

Of course, the redhead had known about it - she was always careful to make sure no one spotted the stream of grey pouring out of her ear when she was resurrected, returning them to her later in a test tube, that smirk on her face matching the note on every bottle - “Nice try”

_ “Despite its fall, she’s continued to be at the forefront of advancement” _

Overwatch’s implosion had always been coming, everyone could see it. What was the point of an organisation designed to fight a war when the war was over? If they hadn’t fallen to the internal strife, the UN would have just pulled them apart brick by brick until every dark secret they had would have fallen out into daylight. Today she just continued her work, taking advantage of the nature of man to continue her improvements on it.

_ “So please welcome to the stage, Dr Angela Ziegler!” _

\--

_ “Wonderful speech Dr Ziegler, truly inspirational” _

_ “Great to hear all that you’ve been up to, my organisation would love to contribute to your work” _

_ “I’m sure we can make some room in the budget for a donation, what do you think Bill” _

_ “Sorry to impose Dr Ziegler, but could you sign this for my daughter? She wants to be just like you!” _

Always the same comments, the same requests, the same ask for pictures. Always one idiot asking her to “Say the line!”. “Heroes Never Die!” Thanks for that piece of crap, Morrison. He almost deserved to be dead because of thinking of it.

God, she wished she allowed herself to get drunk. She loved being able to drink people under the table with no effect, especially useful when negotiating with some of the more seedy elements she had to encounter, but sometimes getting the buzz would have made these events more worthwhile.

A portly man in an ill-fitting suit was now fawning over her.  _ “Your work in the Caucuses has been incredible Dr Zeigler. I’m sure working while under siege from one of the local warlords must have made your work so much harder.”  _

Under siege? Ha. Helping the local warlord by healing his troops more like. Of course, she couldn’t help but add a few things to the antibiotics she was using. In a few hours, that warlord and his entire camp would be punished for their failings.

She smiled, using the golden flash to distract before answering something inane about “the hard work of her team” and “how every donation helped”.

As the man started to speak again, she could feel herself thinking about which variations of the nanobots would work best on him. Large frame so would probably be vulnerable to a heart attack. It would be so easy to drop a few into his glass and let them go straight to the source to shut him up. A few thoughts and it could all be over with no great loss.

She felt a tap on her arm.

_ “Err, Dr Ziegler? You asked to be informed when the Oasis Minister for Genetics had finished her meetings? She is asking to see you, upstairs in the penthouse suite” _

Thank god. She apologised to the donors around her, before leaving the hall to follow the hotel staff member to her most important meeting of the night.

\--

As always, Oasis liked its ministers to travel in opulence. The penthouse they had hired was truly decadent, the privacy glass windows stretching from floor to ceiling to give an incredible view out over the skyline of New York. When Angela entered, it’s only other occupant was standing right beside them, staring out towards the setting sun.

The Minister had chosen the official robes of Oasis for this visit, obviously wanting to impress the other UN diplomats during their earlier meetings. The golden crown reflected off the glass, while the holes in the shoulder revealed her pale skin, a few of the freckles that dotted across her back now visible in the light.

She turned her head slightly when Angela entered before speaking aloud.

“Ah, Dr Ziegler. I’m sorry I could not attend your speech, I was deep in conversation with the Ambassador of Numbani about recent events there and couldn’t leave.”

Angela smiled “But of course Minister, although I’m sure you’ve heard the speech many times before.”

The Minister now turned to face her, those mismatched eyes set perfectly in her thin and sharp face. Her expression said it all - play along, a few more lines and then the facade is over.

“I have but I do still so enjoy it. Now, with this being a charity event, I felt it was the place that Oasis should announce we are resuming our support of your organisation. From the results we’ve seen, we are very happy with all your work and feel it is only right that it should continue”

Angela continued her polite smile “That is very generous of you Minister, that equipment and funding should keep us active and able to help many others in the years to come”

The Minister simply nodded at this before speaking to the room. “Thank you Jeeves, you can turn off the internal recording equipment now. My official business is complete for the day. Do not reactivate until I command you to.”

There was a brief pause and then the lighting changed, becoming more subdued. Shadows appeared, one cast across Angela’s face from the chandelier above.

The Minister took off her headpiece and placed it on the desk, running her hands through her red hair to return to its usual style. Her eyes twinkled in the darkness, her teeth shining in the pale moonlight.

“My dearest Angela, I do so love watching you try to be like the rest of them. Tell me, how many people asked you to say the line this time” Moira smiled as she teased Angela.

Angela let herself relax. Her posture changed, the fixed smile retracting from her lips to be replaced with a much more sullen look.

“Only four, much fewer than the last one of these damned events I went to. The introduction went on for far too long as well. Amazing how boring your life can sound when they cut out the good bits”

Moira laughed. “Well, I know one thing that will make you pleased - your parting gift in the Caucuses activated successfully. Russian Army is investigating the site and trying to keep it quiet but my source says 100% fatalities. She also recovered some tissue samples for you to look over”

Angela smirked darkly “That will be useful, thank you. I want to see how the various internal conditions affected the time release.”

Moira nodded. “You should also probably be preparing for a trip to Numbani. I hear terrible things about the most recent outbreak, especially a certain strain of it.” She paused and widened her grin “I’ll wait until you give up before I send you the exact details - don’t want to make the game too easy”

“They didn’t go for your offer?” Angela replied, leaning on one of the chairs facing the desk.

Moira tilted her head, considering “They were... reluctant. Still agreeing on terms. Besides, one of the other Inner Circle members wants to make a bit of a mess there.”

Moira pulled a bottle of champagne and two glasses from under the desk. She poured both and passed one across to Angela.

“But before all that, I think it's time for a toast. To Dr Ziegler - the devil pretending to be an angel.”

Angela drank deeply, expecting no effect as usual. It was when she noticed Moira grin, as wide as the Cheshire Cat, that she began to feel something. Something she hadn’t felt for a while. The buzzing in her head, the first feelings of euphoria.

She fixed Moira with an amused glare “You didn’t”

“Oh, I did, “ Moira responded, prowling around the desk “I took a look at your little pets and found a way around them by tweaking a few things - just enough to get you tipsy, ease off some of the stress from a long, long day of playing nice with the insects. And speaking of stress relief...”

Moira now moved around behind Angela, her taloned hand clutching her jawline, the other beginning to unzip her dress. She whispered into her ear “I think someone needs to take her mask off”

**Author's Note:**

> I really, REALLY enjoyed writing this. Thinking about Angela as someone other than the shining beacon of light is an idea I've had for a long time and then this came pouring out.
> 
> And with that, my current set of WIP stories is over. Been really inspired the last few days so wanted to get some things published. Writing like this has been a wonderful change of pace.
> 
> Still writing other things so going to be doing a release every Tuesday if I have something ready. If I have too much in the buffer, you might get something else later in the week.
> 
> If you like this work, I love hearing your comments - I'll always try and respond! Alternatively, drop me an email at odeorainfan2150@gmail.com
> 
> Follow me on twitter at https://twitter.com/deorainfan2150 for news on what I'm working on next.
> 
> If you want to throw me a tip, you can find my Ko-Fi at https://ko-fi.com/odeorainfan2150.


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